.
By Mark Strand and Eavan Boland. pp. 55-71.
Sonnet Poetry Research
By Mike Garofalo
The Gushen Grove Sonnets
Studies in the Sonnet Poetry Forms
"Garofalo's Quintain Sonnet Forms"
Reaearch, Bibliography, Index, Notes
Commentary, Reviews, Styles
The Gushen Grove Sonnets. By Mike Garofalo.
VSPL = Valley Spirit Center Poetry Library, Mike Garofalo's Home Poetry Library, Vancouver, Washington State
FVRL = Fort Vancouver Regional Library, Clark Country, Washington State
The American Sonnet: An Anthology of Poems and Essays. Edited by Dora Malech and Laura Smith. University of Iowa, 2023, 383 pages.
American Sonnets: An Anthology. Edited by David Bromwich. American Poets Project. Library of America, 2007, 224 pages. VSCPL.
American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin. By Terrance Hayes. Penguin Books, 112 pages, 2018. VSCPL.
The Art of the Sonnet. Edited with commentary by Stephanie Burt and David Mikics. Belknap Press, 2010, 464 pages. Bibliography, Index. VSCPL and FVRL.
At the Edges of the Fertile West Highway 99 and Interstate 5. A Docu-Poem. By Mike Garofalo.
The Cambridge Companion to the Sonnet. Edited by A. D. Cousins and Peter Howarth. Cambridge University Press, 2011, 296 pages. VSCPL.
The Collected Poems of Ted Berrigan. By Ted Berrigan (1934-1983). Edited by Alice Notley and Anselm Berrigan. University of California Press, 2007, 760 pages. VSCPL. 88 minimalist sonnets.
The Essential Poet's Glossary. By Edward Hirsch. 2017, 385 pages.
Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse. By Alexander Puskin (1799-1837).Translation by James E. Falen. Oxford's World Classics, 1995, 240 pages. Introduction and index. Paperback, $10, VSCPL.
frank: sonnets. By Diane Seuss. 2020, 154 pages, Won the Pulitzer Prize. A long prose poem divided into 14 lines per book page. VFRL.
Garofalo Sonnet Form: Quintain Couplet Quintain Couplet. 5 2 5 2 = 14 Lines. Sonnet Model 8 Below.
The Gushen Grove Sonnets. By Mike Garofalo.
How to Write a Form Poem: A Guided Tour of 10 Fabulous Forms: Includes Anthology and Prompts: Sonnets, Sestinas, Haiku, Villanelles, Pantoums, Ghazals, Rondeus, Odes and More plus Variations. By Tania Runyan.
Literary Devices: Definition and Examples of Literary Terms
A Little Book on Form: An Exploration into the Formal Imagination of Poetry. By Robert Hass. pp.121-186.
The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms
The Making of a Sonnet: A Norton Anthology. Edited by Eavan Boland and Edward Hirsch. Reprint Edition. Norton, 2009, 512 pages. VSCPL.
Memories of Pacific Coast Places Highway 101 and 1. A Docu-Poem. By Mike Garofalo.
Minimalist Sonnets. See SM3 Sonnet Model 3 Below.
New American Poetry: 1945-1960. Edited by Donald Allen. University of California Press, 1999, 479 pages. VSCPL.
New Oxford Rhyming Dictionary. Oxford Quick Reference.
Oxford University Press, 2013, 2nd Edition, 448 pages. Rhymes for over 45,000 words. This dictionary for rhymes is my favorite to use. The end of this book (pp. 230-448) is an index of English words and the numerical key to organized rhymes for each word in the front of the book.
On the Elasticity of the Sonnet and the Usefulness of Collective Experimentation.
The Oxford Book of Sonnets. Edited by John Fuller. Oxford University Press, 2000, 362 pages. Introduction, index of first lines. Nice compact hardbound size with dark ink and quality paper. A pleasure to hold
and use. VSCPL.
Poetry Research By Mike Garofalo. Bibliography, LInks, Notes, Research, Reviews.
The Penguin Book of the Sonnet: 500 Years of a Classic Tradition in English. Edited by Phyllis Levine. Penguin, 2001, 528 pages. Index, Biographical Notes, Commentary. VSCPL.
Poems Translations: The Early Italian Poets and Dante's Vita Nuova. Translations and editing by Dante Gabriel Rosetti. Classic Reprint. Forgotten Books, 2019, 510 pages. Kindle EBook. VSCPL.
Poetry Research. By Mike Garofalo. Bibliography, Links, Notes, Reviews, Commentary, Research.
A Poet's Guide to Poetry. By Mary Kinzie. VSCPL.
Poets Writing Sonnets:
William Baer (150), Jorge Luis Borges, Elizabeth Barrett Browning (44),
Eugene Lee-Hamilton (100),
John Milton (523), Rainer Marie Rilke,
Diane Seuss, William Shakespeare (154),
Lope de Vega (over 3,000)
Ted Berrigan
The Prosody Handbook: A Guide to Poetic Form. By Robert Beum and Karl Shapiro. Dover, 2006, 240 pages.
Pulling Onions. By Mike Garofalo. Over 1,000 One-Liners, Quips, Epigrams.
Quintains, Pentastich, and Tankas. By Mike Garofalo. Over 750 Quintains.
Rhyming Tools
New Oxford Rhyming Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2013, 2nd Edition, 448 pages. Rhymes for over 45,000 words.
Rhyme Zone Find rhymes, synonyms, adjectives and more. Online application.
Merriam-Webster Rhyme Disctionary. Online Application.
Rhymer. Online Application
Rhymer Finder. Online Application.
Shakespeare's Sonnets. Edited by Katherine Duncan-Jones. The Arden Shakespeare, 1997, index, 488 pages. VSCPL.
The Sonnet: An Anthology. A Comprehensive Selection of British and American Sonnets from the Renaissance to the Present. Edited by Robert M. Bender and Charles L. Squier. Washington Square Press, 1985, 428 pages. VSCPL.
Sonnet Form by Mike Garofalo: Quintain Couplet Quintain Couplet. 5 2 5 2 = 14 Lines. Sonnet Model 8 Below.
Sonnet Forms, Models, Frames Notes by Mike Garofalo.
The Sonnets: By Jorge Luis Borges. A Bilingual Edition. Edited by Jill Levine, et. al. 2010, 335 pages.
Sonnets by Michael Peter Garofalo.. The Gushen Grove Sonnets.
Sonnets for a Missing Key. By Percival Everett. Red Hen Press, 2024,62 pages. FVRLS.
Sonnets for Michelangelo. By Vittoria Colonna (1490-1547). Translated by Abigail Brundin. Bilingual Edition. The other voice in early modern Europe. University of Chicago, 2005, 344 pages.
Sonnets from the Portuguese. By Elizabeth Barret Browning. Hard Press, 56 pages, 2024. 44 Sonnets. VSCPL.
Sonnets of Sun, Honey and Moon: A Song of Worlds: K. D. Balmont's Finest Book in a Verse Interview. By Martin Bidney and K. D. Balmont. 292 pages, Self-Published, 2013. VSCPL. "Here I “interview” a poet I’ve been reading and researching for decades. K. D. Balmont, a guiding light and major force in the Russian Symbolist movement, offered an encyclopedic view of his intercultural, nature-mystical development in a climactic book of 255 lyrical treasures: "Sonnets of Sun, Honey, and Moon: A Song of Worlds" (1917)." Also includes, 255 poems by Martin Bidney.
Sonnets to Orpheus. By Rainer Marie Rilke. Bilingual Edition. Translations and editing by Mark S. Burrows. Monkfish, 2024, 190 pages. VSCPL.
Sonnets: Research, Bibliography, Notes By Mike Garofalo.
Tercets, Haiku, Senryu. By Mike Garofalo. Over 1,000 Tercets.
25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works of Mike Garofalo
Sonnets: Models, Structures, Rhyme Schemes
SM - Sonnet Model [Lines, Rhyme Scheme, Prosody, Notes)
RS = Rhyme Scheme
Types of Sonnets: American, Curtal, Caudate, English, French, German, Miltonic, Occitan, Petrarchian, Shakespearian, Spanish, Universal
SM 1 Sonnet Model 1
8+6 = 14 Lines
RS = abbacddc efeeff
RS = abba abba cde cde
RS = abba abba cdccdc
RS = abba cddc efeeff
RS = abab cdcd ece cff
RS = abba abba cddcee
RS = ababcdcdee fgfgaa
RS = abab cdcd efef gg
Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) Italian Renaissance Author
"Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet: Named for the Italian Renaissance lyrical poet Francesco Petrarch, this sonnet pattern consists of an eight-line Octave with the rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA, followed by a six-line Sestet that follows one of two rhyme schemes, CDE CDE or CDC CDC."
The Turn, the summary, the Volta, the concluding lines begin at the start of the final 6 lines.
SM2 Sonnet Model 2
4+4+4+2 = 14 Lines
RS = abab abab abab aa
RS = abab cdcd efef gg
English, Shakespearian, American
"English or Shakespearean Sonnet: Named for William Shakespeare and a variation of the Italian sonnet, this sonnet pattern consists of three four-line Quatrains and a concluding coupletwith the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG."
The Turn, the summary, the Volta, the concluding lines begin at the start of the final couplet.
The last two lines nearly always finish in an end rhyme.
Examples: The Gushen Grove Sonnets: # 6, 7, 36, 38, 42, 44
SM3 Sonnet Model 3
14 Lines
Minimalist style of Sonnets
Free Verse, Square Block Rectangle,
No Stanzas, No Breaks, Unryhmed
Fits in a Frame
Left justified typographically.
Limited use of punctuation.
Example: Ted Berrigan's 88 Sonnets
Examples: The Gushen Grove Sonnets: # 46, 47, 48, 49
RS = abcdefghijklmn
SM4 Sonnet Model 4
14 Lines
RS = abbacddceffegg
RS = ababcdcdefefgg
RS = abcdabcdabcdee
RS = abcdefghijklmn
Rhymed end words or Free Verse,
Square Block Rectangle Shape,
Fits in a Frame.
Many Internal Variations:
14, 8+6, 4+4+8,
6+8,
4+4+4+2, 8+6, etc, for
turns-twists-voltas.
Used Worldwide
Petrarch, English, American, French,
Modern, Renaissance
SM5 Sonnet Model 5
4+4+3+3 = 14 Lines
RS = abab cdcd eee eff
Petrarch, Italian, French
SM6 Sonnet Model 6
4+4+6 = 14 Lines
RS = abba abba cddceee
English, American
SM7 Sonnet Model 7
Longer 'Sonnets' up to 20 lines.
Usually free verse.
Michael P. Garofalo began his detailed study of Quintains and Sonnets in 2021. He began composing poetry in the four "Quintain Sonnet Forms," (5252, 555, 553, 554) which began appearing in 2021 in his online collection of Poetry and Anthologies, The Gushen Grove Sonnets and Bundled Up, Volume 1: Quintains, Pentastichs, and Tankas.
His invented term"Quintain Sonnet Forms" refers simply to a short sequence of quintain stanzas (5 lines each) with the total lines being from 13 to 15 (5252, 555, 553, and 554), with 5 being the Dominant quintain form, 2 being a couplet, 3 being a triplet (e.g., haiku or senryu), 4 being a standard quarter. A traditional sonnet
consistes of 14 lines (e.g., 68, 86, 4442); so the quintain sonnet is visually similiar in size/space/appearance.
The composer is free to write quintains and quintain sonnets (5252, 555, 553, and 554) with rhyme by formula, free rhyme, blank verse, free verse, or nonsensical word smithing. Personally, I enjoy creating
a quintain that rhymes really fine AND chimes with ideas/connections.
SM8 Sonnet Model 8
Garofalo Quintain Sonnet Form First
5 2 5 2 = 14 Lines
Quintain Couplet Quintain Couplet
The Couplets are often connected thematically with each other.
Getting the Couplets to rhyme is the best target.
Can be rhymed verse, blank verse, or free verse.
Typographically, mostly Left Justified; but with some variations in indentation, spacing, layout.
Makes free use of punctuation.
Some use of hypertext and reference links.
Some authors and AI have suggested using fixed rhyme schemes for 5252 such as:
5 ABABB
2 CC
5 DEDEE
2 FF
Or
5 ABABA
2 CC
5 DDEED
2 FF
"The interlocking rhymes within each quintain provide a sense of musicality and development, while the two rhyming couplets at the end of each section offer a sense of resolution. Ultimately, the structure (5252) is the defining element of this modern sonnet form. The specific rhyme scheme is left to the poet's creative interpretation. There is no single "official" rhyme scheme for Michael P. Garofalo's 5252 quintain sonnet, and he is the originator of this modern sonnet form. Poets writing in this form can adapt the rhyme scheme to fit their own needs for creative expression." - Ms. AI
A Google drop-down Translation Menu. Read the poetry on the webpage in over 80 different languages.
Many of these Sonnets are cellphone readable with ease. However, due to the limitations on the width of the lines on a cellphone screen, these Sonnets can appear to be longer with indentations for the ending of long lines. Viewed on a larger desktop screen, with CTrl+- text adjustment, the same Quintain Sonnet can been seen as just 14 lines. Consequently, this cellphone line length limitation affects the writing style.
Examples of the Garofalo Sonnet Form 5252 in The Gushen Grove Sonnets: #1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 13, 21, 23, 32, 39, 931.
Listening to Change #931
I listened to another say
what I resisted to hear
what was alien to me
what outlined my ire
what I wanted to fight
But then I settled down
loosened my blockhead mind
Thought things over patiently,
listened more carefully,
saw matters from other sides,
respected the integrity
and sincerity of other kinds
Of thinking outside my closed boxes
Of my habits of opinions needing overhaul.
SM9 Sonnet Model 9
Garofalo Quintain Sonnet Form Second
5 5 5 = 15 Lines
Quintain Quintain Quintain
Rhymed, Free Verse, Blank Verse
Examples: 933, 8, 55
Double Visions #933
An eager face staring into the Rich silence
Of mirrored space devoid of mind;
Not projecting or connecting, but reflecting.
Supreme non-fictions, Things
Naked as they are, as they are.
Inevitably, as sunshine blares on stones,
Green erupts from Brown.
Curiosity Swings across the Mind
past junkyards of ideas, peeling metaphors,
rusting rhymes, and concrete cliches,
Into the Center of Imagination City!
We are as we are:
Twofolds, Fourfolds, Eightfolds of
Realities and Possibilities.
Pushing on. Pushing on!
SM9 Sonnet Model 10
Garofalo Quintain Sonnet Form Third
553 or 535 = 13 Lines
552 or 525 = 12 lines
Quintain Quintain Tercet or Quintain Tercet Quintain
Rhymed, Free Verse, Blank Verse
Use of quoted haiku
Sonnet Examples: 7, 56,
1321.
Handouts for the Hungry
seagulls search
the parking lot
for handouts
from humans
on asphalt ground
stray dogs
wandeer around
nostrils twitching
hunting for food
begging for handouts
"Arid fields
the only life
necks of cranes."
- Shiko
SM9 Sonnet Model 11
Garofalo Quintain Sonnet Form Fourth
554 = 14 Lines
Quintain Quintain Quartet
Rhymed, Free Verse, Blank Verse
A Quintain Dominant Sequence of Sonnet 14 Length.
Possible Structural-Ideational Evolution of 554. e.g.,
Stanza 1 Show. Stanza 2 Respond. Stanza 3 Resolve.
1. State. 2. Challenge. 3. Debate
1. Falsehood. 2. Truth. 3. Winner?
1.
Argue. 2. Anger. 3. Violence...
1. Fact. 2. Change. 3. Reality!
1. Attracted. 2. Interacted. 3. Lust
1. Strong. 2. Stronger. 3. Quiet/Softer
How do you interrelate the three stanzas of 554?
How do they fit together? Abstractly or concretely?
Heading in different directions after Mars?
Nonsensically? Fastiditously? Tastefully?
Like
Eating a Lover's Kiss?
Quintain Sonnet 554::: Examples: comin' later.
Quintains, Pentastich, and Tankas. By Mike Garofalo. Over 750 Quintains.
Quatrains. By Mike Garofalo.
Tercets, Haiku, Senryu. By Mike Garofalo. Over 1,000 Tercets.
Couplets. Two Line Rhymed Poems by Mike Garofalo.
Pulling Onions. By Mike Garofalo. Over 1,000 One-Liners, Quips, Epigrams.
Poetry Research. By Mike Garofalo. Bibliography, Links, Notes, Reviews, Commentary, Research.
Sonnet Poetry Research. By Mike Garofalo. Bibliography, Links, Notes, Reviews, Commentary, Research.
Quintain Poetry Research. By Mike Garofalo. Bibliography, Links, Notes, Reviews, Commentary, Research.
The Gushen Grove Sonnets. By Mike Garofalo.
Prosody (Patterns of rhythm and sound)
Meter: Iambic.
Short then long syllable, unstressed then stressed, downbeat then upbeat.
Iambic Examples: unknówn, abóut, of árt,
"Iamb: a two syllable metrical foot, the first unstressed, the second stressed.
Upbeat followed by downbeat.
"
"Foot = A group of syllables forming a metrical unit."
The English language iamb fits the natural stress patterns of
English words and phrases.
"Iambic pentameter = A five-stress, roughly decasyllabic line."
"To wáke the sóul by tender strókes of árt." - Alexander Pope
Meter:
Trochee
Thoraic Examples: únknown, Dadum, póet; Stressed/Unstressed, Downbeat/Upbeat.
"Trochee: A metrical foot of two syllables, the first stressed, the second unstressed.
It starts with a downbeat." Marching or Walking pace rhythm.
My personal stylistic and webpage considerations
for when writing sonnet poems:
1.
For my webpage, The Gushen Grove Sonnets,
I use the Georgia font at 24px size.
<
Since, my line length is limited, I will
stop a longer
line
and then indent the next line
to finish that line. I will look carefully at all
webpages I create on my Android cellphone.
2. Generally, I favor punctuation (, . ; ! - —)
and capitalization rather than not. But, some
free verse sonnet poems eschew the use of
such common conventions.
3. For this Sonnets Research webpage,
I use the Verdana font in the 18px size.
Michael Peter Garofalo (1946-) grew up in East Los Angeles, was educated in Catholic Schools, lived with two other brothers, graduated (B.A., M.S.) from local universities, married Blanche Karen Eubanks, served in the US Air Force, worked in and managed many City and Los Angeles County Public Libraries, raised two children, socialized, traveled, and learned. Retired as the Regional Administrator, East Region, Los Angeles County Public Library in 1998. We moved to a rural 5 acre property in Red Bluff, in the North Sacramento Valley, CA. Webmaster since 1999. Worked part-time for the Corning Union Elementary School District (Technology and Media Services Manager and District Librarian); and as a yoga, Taijiquan, and fitness club instructor until 2016. Traveled extensively in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. We both retired, and we moved to Vancouver, WA, in 2017. Currently in 2025: reading, writing, gardening, harmonica playing, home chores, yurt camping, exercise, traveling in the Northwest, web publishing, family events, poetry research, photography, Northwest research, Nature mysticism, Buddhist and Taoist literature, walking, sports events, etc.
25 Steps and Beyond; Collected Works
Sonnets: Research, Bibliography, Notes
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This document was last edited, revised,
reformatted, added to, relinked,
changed, improved, or modified
by Michael Peter Garofalo
on July 13, 2025.